Archives for the month of: June, 2014
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Leek, Bacon and Pea Risotto

June 28, 2014 //
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Leek, Bacon and Pea Risotto
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I love risotto but after a few disastrous attempts at making it at home I basically gave up. I’d follow a recipe line by line but instead of 20-30 minutes of stirring to cook the rice al dente it took over an hour. And frankly, as good as risotto is it wasn’t worth carpal tunnel syndrome. But, one day I was talking to someone (I can’t remember who, sorry!) about my bad luck with risotto and they suggested that perhaps the abrorio rice that I was using was old and that was why it wasn’t absorbing the liquid. Genius! So, now instead of buying a large or even medium sized bag of rice I try to only buy what I need for that recipe or at least get the smallest bag I can find and use it up quickly.

Anyway, this recipe is relatively simple and delicious and makes a lovely spring meal, especially with a glass of rose!

 

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Fava Bean Puree

June 24, 2014 //
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Fava Bean Puree
Fava Bean Puree_web

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop. Each chapter is devoted to a different vegetable and features basic and unusual recipes and preparation techniques for each. It is a perfect cookbook for this time of year when you just buy whatever looks good at the farmers market and worry about what you’ll do with it later.

I’ve been making this recipe ever since I bought my first fava bean. Admittedly, fava beans are not available everywhere, but if you are lucky enough to have access to them in late spring/early summer buy them! Just make sure that you sort through each bean pod by hand, only picking the ones who have plump beans within. Yes, favas take awhile to prepare, but they are so worth it – especially this recipe which you just want to slather on anything you can find. Crostini really work best though.

2 lbs. fresh fava beans, shelled – approx. 2 cups
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 medium shallots, minced
salt

Bring several quarts of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the shelled fava beans and simmer for two minutes. Drain and refresh in a bowl of cold water. Drain again and then use your fingers to scrap away part of the outer light green skin on each fava. Squeeze the skin to pop out the dark green bean. Set the peeled favas aside.

Shucked favas before they are peeled

Shucked favas before they are peeled

Heat the oil in a medium saute pan. Add the shallots and saute over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the fava beans and salt to taste. Cook, stirring well to coat the favas with the oil. Add 1/4 cup of water, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover the pan. Cook, stirring only once or twice, until the beans are tender but not mushy, 3-6 minutes depending on their age.

Place the contents of the pan in a food processor. Pulse, adding more oil as necessary until the favas form a chunky puree. Adjust the seasonings.

The puree can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several days.

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Roasted Salmon and Potatoes with Herb Vinaigrette + Sugar Snap Peas

June 24, 2014 //
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Roasted Salmon and Potatoes with Herb Vinaigrette
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I found it annoying to buy a bunch of herbs and then only use 1/2 teaspoon of each so I used more in the vinaigrette. Additionally, I also found it annoying to use only half of a peeled potato so I used both and layered them a bit on top of each other. The potatoes took an extra 20 or so minutes to cook, but because this meal is pretty simple to prepare I didn’t mind a little extra cooking time.

I had quite a bit of the vinaigrette left over so I used it next day for a salad.

olive oil
1 1/2 medium-sized Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1 ts. Dijon mustard
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 ts. finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 ts. finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 ts. finely chopped fresh thyme
1 TB. finely chopped fresh parsley
2 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each, skinned

Note: this recipe yields 2 servings, you could double the ingredients for 4 servings, but you might need two baking dishes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush shallow baking dish with olive oil. Arrange potato slices in a single layer in bottom of dish. Brush potatoes with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Baked 12-15 minutes.

While potatoes bake, whisk together vinegar, mustard, garlic and herbs in a medium-sized bowl. Slowly whisk in 6 tablespoons of olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside. Brush salmon fillets with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

When potatoes are done, remove baking dish and reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees. Place fillets on top of potatoes, skinned side down. Roast 12 minutes. Remove salmon from oven, and drizzle each fillet with vinaigrette. Serve.

Sugar Snap Peas
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1 lb. sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
1 pat of butter
salt and pepper

Fill a medium saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Add sugar snap peas and butter to boiling water and let simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the peas are bright green but still crisp. Drain and season with salt and pepper.

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Nancy’s Chopped Salad and Bread

June 24, 2014 //
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Nancy’s Chopped Salad via Smitten Kitchen
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When I was pregnant with Eliza the one thing I wanted more than anything else after giving birth was an Italian hero from our neighborhood butcher shop, Los Paisanos. After 9 months of avoiding cold-cuts I couldn’t wait to chow down on a giant sandwich loaded with salami, proscuitto, ham, and provolone cheese. For reasons that I won’t get into here my wish did not come true, but fortunately I have been able to indulge occasionally these last two years. Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen is right when she says in her blog post about Nancy Silverton’s Chopped Salad that it is basically an Italian hero without the bread.

This is a great summertime dinner, because you never turn on the stove, I enjoyed preparing it because you still get to chop a bunch of stuff, which is great therapy after a long day of work. It may not be the healthiest, but I cut back on the cheese and salami so in the end it really wasn’t too bad for us and was really, really delicious.

I served this with toasted bread which you could easily skip.

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The Last of Spring

June 23, 2014 //
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I’m trying something new this week. Instead of four meals, I’m sharing three plus a recipe for fava bean puree which is wonderful. The minute I saw the fava beans at my farmers market last Sunday I knew I had to make this recipe and I wanted to share it with all of you. I brought the puree to a friend’s house for the US vs. Portugal World Cup Match (wasn’t that a bummer?) and they loved it too. I also traveled for work this week so consequently I only made three meals.

Speaking of traveling – I’m traveling again for work at the beginning of this coming week and then heading up north to Vermont for the July 4th holiday – staying a whole week. I can’t wait! But, that means that I’ll probably not be posting my usual meal plans for a little bit, but I hope to update the site once in awhile with a recipe or two. To help you plan while I’m gone  you always can check out previously posted meal plans or meals.

What I was doing yesterday when I should have been posting this meal plan.

What I was doing yesterday when I should have been posting this meal plan.

Meal #1: Leek, Bacon and Pea Risotto
Meal #2: Nancy’s Chopped Salad + Bread
Meal #3: Roasted Salmon and Potatoes with Herb Vinaigrette + Sugar Snap Peas 
Bonus: Fava Bean Puree

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

Idaho potatoes – 2
lemons – 2
red onion – 1 small
shallots – 2 medium
leeks – 2
sugar snap peas – 1 lb.
cherry or grape tomatoes – 1 pint
iceberg lettuce – 1 head
radicchio – 1 head
fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley – 1 bunch each
frozen peas – 3/4 cup
fava beans – 2 lbs.
chickpeas – 1 (15 ounce) can
low-sodium chicken broth – 12 cups (96 ounces)
arborio rice – 2 1/2 cups
pepperoncini – 1 small bottle
dried oregano (if you don’t already have it)
red wine vinegar (if you don’t already have it)
parmesan cheese (if you don’t already have it)
provolone cheese – 1/4-1/2 lb.
salami – 1/4-1/2 lb.
bacon – 4 slices
salmon fillets – 2 (6 ounces each)
white wine

 

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Roasted Salmon with White Wine Sauce and Sautéed Summer Squash and Spring Onions

June 20, 2014 //
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Roasted Salmon with White Wine Sauce

Salmon w White Wine_WEb

 

I prepared the salmon the Pioneer Woman way, which is crazy easy. As the salmon finishes roasting you can prepare the white wine sauce, which is light but flavorful.

Sautéed Summer Squash and Spring Onions

2 zucchini – sliced
2 summer squash – sliced
1 bunch of spring onions (or 1 red onion) – sliced thin
2 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a saute pan and add zucchini, squash and onion. Saute for 5-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are slightly translucent and browned slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Steak with Parmesan Butter, Balsamic Glaze, and Arugula

June 16, 2014 //
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Steak with Parmesan Butter, Balsamic Glaze, and Arugula

This is decadent! It is pretty fast to prepare, but it is more of a weekend dinner because it feels so special. I was thinking about it hours after we finished dinner…

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Longest Day of the Year

June 16, 2014 //
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Tomorrow we celebrate the longest day of the year. With days full of sand and sun and evenings full of fireflies and fireworks. My favorite time of the year… This morning Eliza and I enjoyed the gorgeous weather at Brooklyn Bridge Park. We rode Jane’s Carousel twice, walked along the water, played on a giant jungle gym shaped like a pirate ship and took our sandals off and ran through the grass. It was lovely.

Although we are just hours away from the official start of summer we still have a few more weeks to wait for tomatoes, corn on the cob and fresh green beans. Until then, we can still relish in spring’s bounty of asparagus, spring onions and peas. Hope you enjoy this week’s meals. And, I hope that all of you are enjoying the beginning of summer wherever you are.

Laying in the grass

Selfie in the grass

Meal #1: Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta
Meal #2: Roasted Salmon with White Wine Sauce and Sautéed Summer Squash and Spring Onions
Meal #3: Steak with Parmesan Butter, Balsamic Glaze, and Arugula
Meal #4: Roasted Wild Stripped Bass with Lemon, Olives and Rosemary and Roasted Fennel and Artichoke Hearts

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

zucchini – 2
summer squash – 2
spring onions – 1 bunch (or 1 red onion)
arugula – 2 large bunches or 1 large bag
asparagus – 1 bunch
peas – 2 cups
scallions – 1 bunch
fennel – 2 bulbs
chives – 1 bunch
rosemary – 1 bunch
parsley – 1 bunch
basil – 1 bunch
shallots – 2
lemon – 3
artichoke hearts – 2 cans
fettuccine – 1 box
heavy whipping cream – 1 small container
flour (if you don’t already have it)
brown sugar (if you don’t already have it)
parmesan cheese (if you don’t already have it)
balsamic vinegar (if you don’t already have it)
ground chili pepper, preferably Turkish or Aleppo (if you don’t already have it)
pitted calamata or other good-quality black olives – 1/4 cup (if you don’t already have it)
white wine
pancetta – 3 ounces
rib eye steak – 2, 1 1/2 inches thick each
salmon fillet, skinless – 1 1/2 pounds
wild stripped bass fillet, skinless – 1 1/2 pounds

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Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta

June 10, 2014 //
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Fettuccine with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta

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Oh boy, is this good! The pancetta and cream give this dish a bit of decadence while letting two of spring’s best vegetables shine. I used linguine because that is what I had and it was fine.

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Whole Baked Trout with Cherry Tomatoes and Potatoes

June 4, 2014 //
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Whole Baked Trout with Cherry Tomatoes and Potatoes
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This dish isn’t for the squeamish. I love trout, and often order it if it is on a restaurant menu, but I rarely make it at home because you usually have to cook the whole fish. But, this recipe seemed so easy that I had to try it, and I’m glad I did. The potatoes and tomatoes were delicious and the trout cooked perfectly. I substituted rosemary for the oregano because it is what I had and it worked out great. While it looks impressive coming out of the oven I found it easier to remove the skin, tail and head from the fish before serving it. I told you that you had to be a brave cook!

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